A 17-year-old boy with autism was found alive Thursday after six days lost in eastern Australian woodlands.
asserted
boy → find → woodlands
The boy, whom police identified only as William, had begun camping with a teenage friend when he disappeared last Friday near Walhalla, a former gold-mining town 185 kilometers (115 miles) east of Melbourne, police said.
asserted
police → identify → Melbourne
A police helicopter crew found him surrounded by wilderness lying asleep on a flat rock beside a creek, and he was later reunited with his mother.
asserted
he → find → mother
William was in good spirits and mostly in good health, the police statement said.
asserted
statement → say → health
Video shot from the rescue helicopter showed he was shirtless and sunburned.
asserted
he → shoot → helicopter
He was wearing shorts and boots and was using towels as blankets.
asserted
He → wear → blankets
"I'm just over the moon that he's alive," his mother, Elizabeth, told reporters.
asserted
mother → tell → reporters
The AP has decided not to provide her family name to avoid identifying her son.
asserted
AP → decide → son
"And he's never leaving the house again.
asserted
he → leave → house
He's grounded for life.
asserted
He → ground → life
He's not going anywhere ever again," she joked.
asserted
she → go → ?
Police video showed Elizabeth embrace her son after the rescue helicopter landed to complete its mission.
asserted
helicopter → show → mission
William was later taken to a hospital for his health to be monitored, police said.
asserted
police → take → hospital
"Amazingly, William is in good spirits and for the most part, in good health," they said in the statement.
asserted
they → say → statement
William's family have said he has Level 2 autism.
asserted
he → say → autism
That requires "substantial support," according to the Australian advocacy group Autism360.
uncertain
That → require → group
Such a person may have marked deficits in verbal and non-verbal social communication and rely heavily on routines and predictable activities.
uncertain
person → have → routines
Disruption can cause significant distress.
asserted
Disruption → cause → distress
The Southern Hemisphere spring weather had been mild for the past week in the alpine region where William was lost and there had been little rain.
asserted
William → lose → region
Elizabeth had dropped off her son and his friend last Friday for a weekend of camping.
asserted
Elizabeth → drop → camping
William walked a short distance from the campsite to the drop-off location to collect more camping equipment but never returned to his friend, police said.
asserted
police → walk → friend
After becoming lost, William trekked for days up and down "some very steep terrain," Acting Police Inspector Jason Benbow said.
asserted
Benbow → become → terrain
He spent the last two days where he was found at the creek, trapped by the steepness of his surrounds 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the his camp site, Benbow said.
asserted
Benbow → spend → site
"He woke up to the sound of the helicopter, gave them a thumbs up and they winched him to safety," Benbow told reporters.
asserted
Benbow → wake → reporters
The extensive police search for him involved more than 100 emergency services personnel and volunteers.
asserted
search → involve → personnel
In 2025, a German tourist was
in Australia's remote Outback, 12 days after she went missing.
asserted
she → go → Outback
She was found just a day after officials and local media said , who had been feared lost at sea, was rescued after spending a night on an uninhabited island miles from where they had walked into the water.
asserted
they → find → water
In 2019, an Australian woman missing for three days was
after the SOS message she scrawled in the sand was spotted on a surveillance camera.
asserted
she → miss → camera
The successful rescues have included animals as well.
asserted
rescues → include → animals
Last year, a runaway dog was captured after a
in Australia as she roamed an island teeming with kangaroos, possums, koala bears and penguins.
asserted
she → capture → kangaroos
The Aporia
